Cornwall is justly proud of its ancient tin industry that stretches back nearly four thousand years to the Bronze Age. Miners, or tinners, had their own 'language' that transferred, alongside their inherent mining skill, from father to son. The mineral ore of tin, cassiterite, was frequently encountered in large brilliantly lustrous black crystals - this the miners named 'Diamond-Tin'.

In dense fog on January 6,1863, the 480-ton steamer Liverpool sank off Anglesey after colliding with the barque La Plata. The crews of both vessels were all saved, but the Liverpool's cargo was lost with her and for 136 years lay in the wreck on the seabed 70 metres down. The cargo included a consignment of tin ingots, cast at the Bolitho family business in Penzance and at Williams and Harvey of Hayle, and loaded by the Liverpool at Penzance.

In recent years the sunken ingots have been salvaged, at great efforts, from the wreck; each of the ingots, weighing 28lb and 56lb, was individually dug away from the Liverpool's hold, levered and finally lifted by airbag from the seabed. The Cornish tin recovered from the Liverpool has been made into this stunning new range of jewellery in simple contemporary designs. Some items include a diamond mounted in 18ct gold, a meaningful combination in Cornish history:

Pendant Crosses: